Friends in Need
by camerabugs
Summary: Louise Tate has a surprise for Samantha.  Please be kind in your reviews.


Bewitched-A Friend in Need

I do not own Bewitched or any of the characters. This story is AU, the ages of Jonathan and Tabitha are not like they were in the show. Please be kind in your reviews.

Samantha Stephens was putting the finishing touches on the dress she was making for Tabitha when the doorbell rang several times. This was followed by a frantic pounding and the sound of Louise Tate's voice, "Samantha! Please help me!"

Samantha dropped the dress onto the couch and hurried to the door. As she opened it, her friend Louise rushed in, with her son Jonathan in her arms. Samantha could tell by the expression on Louise's face that something was terribly wrong.

"Oh, Samantha, you have to help me. You are the only one who will understand!"

"Calm down, Louise. Here, have a seat on the couch and tell me what is wrong."

Louise sat down on the couch, placed Jonathan next to her, and removed his jacket before setting him on the floor to play.

Louise was pale and frightened looking. Samantha sat next to her and patted her hand, wondering what had upset her friend so much.

"Now Louise, whatever it is, it can't be that bad," Samantha said, trying to calm her friend.

"Oh, yes it is!" replied the frantic woman. "I have been living a lie and now Larry will find out. He is going to be so angry!"

Samantha was perplexed. What on earth could be so bad that it had Louise this upset? Before she could ask, Tabitha began to cry from upstairs. "Hang on Louise; just let me get Tabitha up from her nap."

Samantha hurried up the stairs, got Tabitha from her crib, and brought her downstairs to play with Jonathan. She placed her daughter on the floor and put some toys between the two children. Turning back to Louise she started to ask her friend what the problem was. Before she could say anything a toy pony floated across the room and began to dance between the two children. Both women turned to look at the pony. Samantha was horrified, of all times for Tabitha to use her witchcraft! She turned to Louise expecting her to be frightened by this display of magic. Instead her friend simply looked annoyed. "Jonathan, how many times do I have to tell you, no magic!"

Louise turned to Samantha, "This is what I was trying to tell you. I am a witch and Jonathan is a warlock."

Samantha was speechless. Before she could think of anything to say, Louise continued. "I never told Larry. When I first fell in love with him, I tried a dozen times to tell him, but it never seemed to be the right time. Pretty soon I realized that I _could_ never tell him. You know how he is; he would use it for his own profit. I never used my witchcraft after we were married for fear that he would figure it out. I always worried about our children, but after so many years of not getting pregnant, I figured that maybe we could not have children, and then Jonathan came along. I kept hoping that he would not have my powers, but he does."

"Louise, I never even thought that you might be a witch, but how did you figure out that I was a witch too?"

"I've known it, or at least suspected it, for years. There were just too many strange things going on around here."

Samantha sat back on the couch, trying to absorb the situation. "Louise, if you knew I was a witch, why didn't you say something before now?"

"Because I was afraid that if anyone knew, Larry might find out"

Samantha was hurt at first by her friend's lack of trust in her, but when she thought about it, she knew she was right. If Larry had found out, he would have used it to make money.

The two women sat silently for a few moments, watching their children take delight in the dancing pony.

Louise broke the silence, "Samantha, what on earth am I going to do? How do I tell Larry that I am a witch and his son is a warlock? After all these years he is going to be furious!"

Samantha knew that Louise was probably right. How would Darrin react if they had been married as long as Louise and Larry were before she told him that she was a witch? She knew that he would feel betrayed.

"Louise, I don't know what we will do, but I promise, I will think of something," Samantha told her, trying to sound more confident than she really was. How on earth could Louise explain this to Larry?


End file.
